Putting our old parents or other elderly in nursing is a difficult decision for many families. Nobody wants to live away from their loved ones, but because of some emergency, they are forced to live separately from them. Therefore, most families spend a good amount of time, energy, and money searching for the best nursing homes for their loved ones.
When one places their elder parents in a nursing home, they expect the staff to care for their parents and treat them with dignity. However, it is unfortunate that nursing home abuse, whether intentional or unintentional, exists. Finding out that your loved one has been abused can be extremely disappointing and may enrage you. You can take appropriate actions against the liable party with the help of a Portland nursing home abuse lawyer.
What is nursing home abuse?
Nursing home abuse refers to any abuse or ill-treatment with the senior citizens inside the long-term care facility- be it physical, emotional, or financial exploitation. This abuse can come from either the facility’s caretakers or other residents, or both. The abuse may be intentional or unintentional and can cause injuries, psychological trauma, and even death.
Why does nursing home abuse occur?
- Greedy staff.
Financial exploitation of senior citizens occurs when the greedy staff tries to get close to the residents, forge their signatures on checks, and take their credit card information.
- Shortage of staff.
Shortage of staff equals more workload on the current employees. When employees are overworked, it can often cause them to become tired and irritated, which results in bad behavior with the residents.
- Burnout.
When employees of the nursing homes are made to work for long hours, it is natural that they may get exhausted and develop irritating behavior due to having to deal with residents. Some staff may lash out at the residents because of this.
- Lack of supervision.
When the facility’s owner or management team does not keep regular checks on the staff and residents, it can increase the cases of abuse.
Types of abuse
- Physical abuse.
Physical abuse refers to when a resident suffers bodily harm due to mistreatment or neglect. This may refer to ignoring the primary needs of the resident, such as food, emotional care, sanitary environment, etc.
- Emotional abuse.
Yelling, insulting and verbal threats from other residents or the staff constitute emotional abuse. Emotional abuse can cause the resident to develop anxiety and depression. It lowers their confidence and causes them to have suicidal thoughts.
- Sexual abuse.
Sexual abuse refers to sexual harassment or forceful intercourse. The warning signs of sexual abuse are bruises around the genitals and other parts of the body, inappropriate physical contact with the staff, and unexplained STDs.
